Music has always been a profound way for me to express my innermost feelings and my connection with the Divine. During these times of profound connection, I find myself inspired to create music, channeling my spiritual experiences into artistic expression. These past few years, I have channeled that expression into two albums of original compositions, “Heaven Awaits” (2020) and my newest release, “Cosmic Force” (Fall, 2023).
When I contemplate the expansiveness and complexity of the universe, I am in awe of the profound wisdom of the universal “Cosmic Force,” or consciousness, which brings forth and makes up life as we know it, as well as that which we cannot know (the unknowing). I see this cosmic force as the energy that permeates the entire universe, existing both around us and within us. It is one of those mystical gifts that we don’t always recognize and can easily take for granted. When we place our trust in this energy as a source that guides, sustains, and empowers us with love and strength, it is a testament to our faith in the ‘Cosmic Christ’, a concept articulated by Richard Rohr. This “Faith in the Gift”, as I call it (and named one of my songs on the Cosmic Force album), grants us insights, and these insights, in turn, reinforce our faith.
Developing faith necessitates contemplation, a purposeful process of seeking connection with the divine through inner dialogue. The concept of contemplating God, often referred to as theōria, is rooted in the sixth Beatitude: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). There exists a fundamental contrast between the profound, transcendent self that awakens solely through contemplation and the shallow, external self that we typically associate with our identity.[1]
With faith, we feel spacious, non-controlling, and waiting in awareness. Faith gives us the capacity to contain and receive all things, to hold onto nothing, with almost no need to fear or judge rashly. Faith, driven by love, enables us to give up our need to understand, allows us to let go, and lean on a higher power to hold us together. It’s not a giving up as much as it is an opening up and refusing to close back down for the sake of self-sufficiency and mastery.[2]
Awakening to the cosmic force enables us to believe that better days are ahead, regardless of our circumstances. Embracing this force demands immense courage, curiosity, and faith. My song “Better Days Ahead” represents our connection to the universal “ONE” that embodies love and goodness unfailingly, and guides us toward a future filled with hope and positivity.
St. Bonaventure (c. 1217–1274), who scribed the words of St. Francis of Assisi and is often referred to as the second founder of the Franciscan Order, speaks of God as one “whose center is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere.”[3] God is “within all things but not enclosed; outside all things, but not excluded; above all things, but not aloof; below all things, but not debased.”[4]
When we become enlightened, everything becomes new, and we begin to change our thinking (being) which leads us to change our life (doing). We then can embrace ‘all things’ within the cycle and the mirroring of life and death, and somehow have hope and trust it all. This enlightenment is what inspired my song, “All Things New”.
“Where there’s hope, there’s life. It fills us with fresh courage and makes us strong again.” – Ann Frank
Within the realm of faith, there is a mystical dimension, representing a heightened state of consciousness. This mysticism entails a profound sense of enlightenment, not as a random event, but as a result of dwelling consistently in the presence of God and recognizing the intimate involvement of the divine in our lives. This enlightenment does not necessarily require extraordinary experiences.
With faith comes courage and a deepening capacity for love. It enables us to experience unity with the entirety of existence. In this state, the boundaries between what is known and unknown blur, emphasizing the idea that everything belongs and everything matters. With this thought in mind, and the saying by Richard Rohr; “How we do anything is how we do everything”[5], I was inspired to write the song, “Everything Matters”.
When reflecting on why I feel so compelled to write music, perhaps writer Mark Popova said it best (and inspired the song “Starlight”): “To create anything of beauty, daring, and substance that makes the world see itself afresh — be it a revolutionary law of planetary motion or the Starry Night— is the work of lonely persistence against the tides of convention and conformity, often at the cost of the visionary’s aching ostracism from the status quo.”
In describing the soul’s relationship with God, Mechthild of Magdeburg beautifully states it as “the powerful penetration of all things and the special intimacy which ever exists between God and each individual soul”.[6] This paradox captivates her: God is everywhere and surely, therefore, impersonal; and yet in relation to the individual soul, God is entirely intimate and surely, therefore, personal. The Song of Songs poetically and enthusiastically sings of this intimacy. My song “Love for Love” attempts to capture the profound intimacy shared between God and the soul.
Music has the incredible power to evoke deep emotions within me. When I listen to a song or a musician’s solo, it often brings me to tears because it reminds me of both our humanity and our divinity. In those moments, I feel completely engaged in the music -as if my entire being is wrapped up in the melody.
“Just as loving waters precede a rainbow, so do tears precede the rainbow of illuminating Light.” – Tomberg, Valentin, Covenant of the Heart, pg. 78; Element Inc. 1992
Recently, while reflecting on sorrow and love, I wrote a song called “Tears of Joy.” Tears connect us to the feminine side of God—comfort, compassion, gentleness, kindness, humility, and inwardness, and remind us of our connection to Mother Earth. It is important to keep in mind that God, though not male or female from a gender perspective, is both masculine and feminine. For example, God is described in both masculine and feminine imagery in the opening verses of Genesis. God (a masculine noun) was created by his Word, and life begins as the spirit (a feminine noun) of God and hovers over the earth with her life-giving breath. (Blenkinsopp, Joseph, a contributor to The Jerusalem Bible; interview 1974.)
Years ago, I had the great privilege of spending several hours with the legendary bassist Charley Haden just a week before his passing. I have on my bedpost the belt to the bathrobe he passed in, which was given to me by his wife. During our time together, Charley shared invaluable wisdom, but one piece of advice has stayed with me forever: he said, “Seek beauty in everything you play. Even if it is only one note… play that note as beautifully as you can.”
Charley sat and played for me, and we listened to the music with our spiritual senses, and he pointed out some of the deep nuances in the music to emphasize the art of playing with restraint and humility.
The Cosmic Force inspires us to embody godliness, encouraging us to pursue unconditional, selfless love, known as Agape. As we embrace this search, we find ourselves living as if we are already in heaven.
Perhaps in our troubled world, music might hold the key to harmony and peace. I firmly believe this to be true. The more I compose and play music, the closer I feel to the profound mystery of God. The more love I feel, the more I want to give, and the clearer I see.
“Love for Love” Lyrics (*instrumental version only on the album)
To purchase this CD, please click here.
Music by Donnie Yance, Lyrics by Jim Abdo
Verse 1
Caressed by the moon
Vast oceans roll
You shine unaware
Your smile stirs my soul
Verse 2
Green valley embraced
By blue mountains high
Your arms shelter me
Fearless we will fly
Dancing in the sky
Chorus
We will ford the ocean
Touch the stars above
Joy and tears we’ll weather
Choosing Love for Love
Love for Love
Verse 3
Two cords intertwine
A third binds them strong
We’re not on our own
Hear The Spirit’s song
We will sing along
Bridge
Since we set sail, leaving shore
Hand in hand, evermore
We’ve never been alone
As we cross the great unknown
Like fire by night and cloud by day
Celestial guides, The Spirit abides over us
Our timeless friend
Will lead us home, our journey’s end
Where we, in awe for eternity
Witness Love for Love
To purchase this CD, please click here.
About the Author:
Donald R. Yance is the founder of the Mederi Center. A Clinical Master Herbalist and Certified Nutritionist, Donnie is renowned for his extraordinary knowledge and deep understanding of the healing properties of plants and nutrition, as well as of epigenetics, laboratory medicine, oncologic pathology, and molecular oncology. He is a professional member of the American Herbalists Guild, National Association of Nutrition Professionals, Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine, and the Society for Integrative Oncology.
[1] Merton, T. (2007). New seeds of contemplation. New York: New Directions.
[2] Keating, Thomas, The Secret Embrace, Part One, What the Mystics Know, Friday, October 23, 2020
[3] Bonaventure, The Soul’s Journey into God 1.14, trans. Ewert Cousins (New York: Paulist Press, 1978), 65
[4] Bonaventure, Soul’s Journey 5.8; Cousins, 100–101
[5] Richard Rohr, The Universal Christ: How a Forgotten Reality Can Change Everything We See, Hope for, and Believe (New York: Convergent, 2021), 57–59.
[6] Bonaventure, The Soul’s Journey into God 1.14, trans. Ewert Cousins (New York: Paulist Press, 1978), 65